Practical discussion on contemporary life challenges from an ancient perspective.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

THE HOPE OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST: A Present Communion

For I received from the Lord that which I
also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was
betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take,
eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of
Me.”In the same manner He also took the
cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do,
as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”For as often as you eat this bread and drink
this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

Paul
is taking us back to the Upper Room where Jesus shared a meal with His
disciples.Together they observed the
Passover.All that lamb of the Old
Covenant symbolized was being fulfilled in the death of Christ, the Lamb of God,
who would take those same elements and institute the New Covenant.

We
call this time together in our worship, “communion.”As we meet here, we are in the Presence of Christ
and have fellowship with Him, and we share this together as a church so that we
have communion with each other.

It
is thrilling to know that as we come to the Lord’s Table, there is present an
honored Guest taking the seat at the head of the Table—Jesus Christ
Himself!He is unseen, yet very much
there.As we look around this Table, we
see His family—a banqueting hall filled with royalty—princes and princesses
seated about us in sweet company, breaking bread with one another!

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About Me

I am a mountaineer by birth--a native of Asheville, NC. For a period of ten years I lived in the Charlotte area and for the last eighteen, I have been "home." I was brought up in a Christian family. In fact, I went to church nine months before I was born! Despite the best efforts of parents and preachers, I went astray. The Prodigal Son story that Jesus told in Luke 15 became my story--a sordid life of drugs and booze and that's enough for you to know. But at the age of eighteen all I had been taught came flooding back into my mind when I saw the mess I was in. Christ changed me. I gave my life to Him and as a result have spent the last three decades preaching the Gospel. I'm not all I ought to be and certainly not what I one day shall be, but thankfully, not what I used to be! God has blessed me with a great wife, five wonderful children and so far, twelve grandchildren. To Him be the glory and praise, now and forever.